There was a hat-trick from a very unlikely source for Snodland Town on Wednesday night as they firmly threw their hat in the ring in the fight for the SCEFL Play Off places with a 5-2 win over Fisher.
Whilst Nathan Olawole and Francis Babalola continued their scoring form from the weekend’s win over Holmesdale, the other three Town goals all came from the boot of Taylor Fisher as the former Sittingbourne and Margate man netted the first treble of his career.
It was tough on a young Fisher side who scored two quality goals through Sam Sene-Richardson and Eniye Ayefa Amgbaduba, but defensive mistakes were to cost the visitors dearly.
Fisher started brightly and would have gone in front but for Joel Odeniran’s goal line clearance to deny Flavio Jumo early on, and it was from a Taylor Fisher free kick that the home side took the lead as the visitors failed to clear and Babalola drilled home the opener.
Babalola was denied a second by an excellent tackle from keeper Mo Otuyo before another free kick hit Odeniran on the shoulder and almost apologetically wrong footed Otuyo and hit the right post.
A night of strange goals intensified with Snodland’s second. Babalola battled for the ball wide on the left and the ball rebounded back to him from a Fisher boot, and his centre was stumbled home by Olawole – the Snodland man literally falling over the ball as it reached him to bundle it over the line.
The visitor’s bad night continued on the stroke of half time when defender Joseph Adewunmi saw his header bounce off the top of the Snodland bar.
After the break, the visitors began on the front foot and only a sensational save by home keeper Sam Freeman was to keep out Adewunmi’s header stopping Fisher replying instantly.
They did not though have to wait too long to pull one back courtesy of Sene-Richardson. The on-loan Chatham youngster cutting inside from the left and arrowing a shot to the top corner.
Otuyo was again called into action to deny Babalola with a fine saving tackle and as Olawole followed in the keeper pulled off a fine and brave block, before the home side extended their lead with another bizarre goal.
A ball was fizzed across the box from the right with a lunging Taylor Fisher missing out by inches. Babalola picked up the loose ball and re-centred and this time Fisher was able to bundle the ball over the line from a yard out.
The lead was almost instantly halved as Amgbaduba thumped a glorious header into the net (from Nathan Tshola’s cross), but kamikaze defending gifted Snodland their fourth as Otuyo got in a horrible mess with a defender and Taylor Fisher was again on hand to roll the ball into an empty net.
Home sub-Ashley Linton was then bravely denied by Otuyo before the home side made safe the points as a long ball out of defence was missed by the visitor’s defence and Taylor Fisher raced away and rolled the ball past the advancing keeper to complete a totally unexpected hat-trick.
The win lifts Snodland back into the race for the Play Off places as they now sit eighth three points off the top five with a game in hand.
SNODLAND TOWN – Freeman, Fisher, Bissett, Bath, Odeniran (Pilbeam), Sawyer, Wells, Olawole (Linton), Ibrahim (Muggeridge), Babalola (Gething), Monger (Pring).
FISHER – Otuyo, Sarpong (Cooper), Flynn, Tshola, Imoru, Adewunmi, Jones (Sangare), Sene-Richardson, Brown, Miller (Amgbaduba), Jumo (Kinzonzy).
Sub – Thomas.